Patricia Mae Andrzejewski is a popular vocalist more familiarly known to her fans as Pat Benatar, after she married her high school sweetheart Dennis Benatar at the age of nineteen. The couple remained together for a number of years, although they divorced in 1979, the same year Benatar recorded her first studio album, In the Heat of the Night, which include the hit "Heartbreaker."

The album we are highlighting on the blog today was her second release, 1980's Crimes of Passion. The success of her first album was eclipsed by this multiple-platinum album, which introduced the world to the hits: "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "You Better Run," "Hell Is For Children," and seven more tracks. The song "You Better Run" also has the distinction of being the second video ever to air on MTV. Benatar received the Grammy Award for Crimes of Passion in the category Best Female Rock Performance in 1980, and went on to collect many other awards in a career that continues to this day.

QUESTION: Which of the following songs was not a hit for Pat Benatar?

a) Love Is A Battlefield

b) "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

c) "We Belong"

d) "Our Lips Are Sealed"

e) "I Need A Lover"

Answer Below

HISTORY TODAY:

The early 1770s were a difficult time for residents of the American colonies, and people were becoming disillusioned with British rule. By the end of 1775, shots had been fired and men killed in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord, and prominent Americans were meeting in Philadelphia to discuss how best to treat the situation. On this date in 1776, a then little-known man named Thomas Paine published his 48-page pamphlet Common Sense, which argued that the rule of the British islands over the entire North American continent defied logic, and it was time to break the connection. The pamphlet would do more to inspire the American Revolution than any one document at the time, arguably even more than the Declaration of Independence that would be published seven months later!

BIRTHS:

January 10th, 1904 is the day Ray Bolger entered the world. Although the actor, singer, dancer was in a number of different plays and movies between the 1930s and 1970s, he is really known for only one performance, in a dual role in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Bolger played the character "Hunk" during the black-and-white Kansas portion of the film and the Scarecrow while Dorothy explored Oz. Bolger, a studio player for MGM at the time, was assigned the role of the Tin Woodsman, while Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Scarecrow. Bolger managed to get the assignments changed, and went on to create his iconic character, while Ebsen developed an allergic reaction to the powdered aluminum used for his make-up and had to withdraw from the film. Bolger proceeded to achieve cinematic immortality because of the film, while Ebsen's career went in another direction. Years later, he would be cast as Jed Clampett in television's The Beverly Hillbillies.

Another January 10th birthday that happens to have special relevance to today's blog is none other than Pat Benatar herself! The queen of rock (I just named her that this very minute) turns 61 today. Live long, Miss Benatar!

QUOTE: If at any moment of the day I ever think I'm remotely cool at all, which is hardly ever, I have two daughters who make sure that never happens. - Pat Benatar